Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

1152 Words3 Pages

Kurt Vonnegut’s story, Harrison Bergeron, is a dystopian narrative set in 2081 characterized by the death of sports and everything creative and innovative whereby the 211th, 212th and 213th Amendments to the Constitution and the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General are putting a glass ceiling on one’s creativity, achievements, goals and thinking ability and capacity. The gifted in sports and those possessing intelligence above normal are oppressed by being forced to wear mental handicap radios and ridiculously heavy handicap bags that are padlocked around their necks. They are always under surveillance and strict rules that when disobeyed, one faces punishment as explained by the character of George Bergeron, …show more content…

The narrator mocks the concept of equality in every way. He imagines in a funny, sad and dark manner how and what the future would be like if, in this 21st century, we are busy fighting and rooting for equality without even thinking of the consequences that the future holds. The narrator goes ahead to be satirical about equality when he points out that Harrison is handsome but,
“to offset his good looks, the H-G men required that he wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random.” (Par. …show more content…

This story shows how powerful the media is and how careful it should be when conveying the news to the public. Many a time, the media distorts information and destroys the reputation of a person. Harrison Bergeron is a character that only wanted to break free from the physical burden, oppression and suppression weighed on him by the United States Handicapper General and the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution but he was seen as a fugitive of the law and anti-government strategist ready to overthrow the government by disrupting the equality law that has been upheld. The assassination of Harrison Bergeron is a depiction of how fast the government can eliminate anyone who goes contrary to its rule of law or anyone who simply fights against the cruelties that the government imposes on its

Show More
Related

  • Identity In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Each person has different characteristics about them that give them their own identity and that should not be changed. In the story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, the main character, Harrison Bergeron is known as a threat to society. He is very intelligent, handsome, and athletic. In 2081, every person in the United States is equal. The government has taken over and has required everyone to wear handicaps to make them less smart, less pretty, less strong, and many other things. At the beginning of the story they mention a husband and wife, George and Hazel Bergeron, and they have a son, Harrison, who gets taken away because of his perfections. Later in the story, Hazel and George are watching ballerinas on television, when the program is interrupted by breaking news. They inform the viewers that Harrison has broken out of jail. The program then turns back on and Harrison appears on stage with the ballerinas. He proceeds to take off every

    Read More

  • Harrison Bergeron Response

    177 Words  | 1 Pages

    Harrison Bergeron is a short story that has a deep meaning to it. To begin with, the short story Harrison Bergeron was made in 1961 and is written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The whole short story is set in the far future of 2081. 2081 is a time where everybody is finally equal and when the government finally has full control over everyone. If you aren't equal you would have to wear handicaps to limit your extraordinary strength and smarts. As the story progresses, Harrison Bergeron is trying to send a message about society.

    Read More

  • Inequality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    Equality appears to be the ideal factor that can perfect a society. It eliminates the need to feel envious of any human or their qualities. Nevertheless, with impartiality comes lack of diversity and ambition. Inequality is the entity that provides individuals with the passion to strive for a better life. If everyone has already reached their full potential there is no purpose for living. The short novel “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut presents a futuristic portrayal of a world where everyone is equal in every way possible. In “Harrison Bergeron,” Vonnegut displays the clear flaws in society that lead to the creation of a horrific dystopia that lacks genuine human emotions, fails to develop as a civilized community and is strictly government

    Read More

  • A Literary Analysis Of Harrison Bergeron

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    Harrison Bergeron is a short story that creates many images and feelings while using symbols and themes to critique aspects of our lives. In the story, the future US government implements a mandatory handicap for any citizens who is over their standards of normal. The goal of the program is to make everyone equal in physical capabilities, mental aptitude and even outward appearance. The story is focused around a husband and wife whose son, Harrison, was taken by the government because he is very strong and smart, and therefore too above normal not to be locked up. But, Harrison’s will is too great. He ends up breaking out of prison, and into a TV studio where he appears on TV. There, he removes the government’s equipment off of himself, and a dancer, before beginning to dance beautifully until they are both killed by the authorities. The author uses this story to satire

    Read More

  • Unequality in Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Vonnegut introduces the handicaps and explains how they work. He first mentions the ear piece which intelligent people wear. George “[is] required by law to wear it at all times,”...

    Read More

  • Competition In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine a society where not a single person competes with another. It has been like this for years, yet nothing has changed since the start of this new world. No new technology, no new occupations, no new discoveries. Absolutely nothing is different. Without competition no one will push themselves to be better or to achieve any goals, and without new achievements society cannot survive, let alone thrive. The short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. discusses this topic. Set in a society where anyone above average in any way is handicapped, therefore everyone is completely and totally equal. One handicapped man, George’s, son is taken away by the government at the mere age of fourteen under suspicion of rebellious intentions. Another

    Read More

  • True Inequality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aristotle said, “ The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” True equality is hard to come by when there are so many things that make people so different. The word equality has a very general meaning. That meaning however, can be interpreted in many different ways. To some, the interpretation can lean more towards a sense of freedom. This freedom has been something society has been fighting for throughout the entirety of history. To others, such as author Kurt Vonnegut Jr., it could mean the complete opposite. In Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut portrays equality as a sort of societal imprisonment.

    Read More

  • The Lack Of Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being unique is a necessary part of life. People are told from being children to adults that they need to be themselves. They are told to do what they love and love what they do. What if the world didn’t allow this? Kurt Vonnegut ponders the idea of a life in which the government enforces complete equality. “Harrison Bergeron” takes place in a future society that hinders people with skills to make everyone equal. This society makes everyone worse instead of better. People having skills and differences is key to life. Equality should be for all in the eyes of the law, however people must be allowed to be unique and have different skills.

    Read More

  • Manipulation In Harrison Bergeron

    400 Words  | 1 Pages

    The short story “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut, is a satirical narrative about a dystopian version of the United States with a controlling American government and an apathetic society. By using symbolism to represent people’s inability to stand up against a totalitarian government, Vonnegut demonstrates the destructive consequences citizens will face if they allow themselves to be manipulated by those in power. The protagonist, George Bergeron, describes his handicaps, one of which is a small earpiece that sends sharp noises into his ear should he try and think about a topic that a person with average intelligence could not think about. When George is watching ballerinas on the television,

    Read More

  • Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron: Equality, Fairness, And Freedom

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    ……………Most of the numerous and very disparate urban utopias imagined since antiquity, claim more or less a social justice combining equality, fairness, and freedom. However the methods invented to reach this social justice often lead to more binding law, sometimes up to the absurd, that limited the abilities and capacities of the citizens. Thus, behind the mask of an ideal equality, is concealed in fact, a tremendous social injustice. In “Harrison Bergeron”, Kurt Vonnegut’s shows us the consequences of sacrificing freedom for perfect equality by using the story of an excessive utopia to demonstrate that a society in which total equality exists, is not only oppressive, but also static and inefficient. Vonnegut exemplifies the image of fairness

    Read More

  • hARRISON BERGERON

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    The theme statement of Harrison Bergeron is that egalitarianism is inefficient, and will eventually be resisted by society. Competition is what drives society forward, and if everyone is equal, we are not developing as one. Many of the people in the story are unable to complete their basic tasks or jobs. “It wasn’t clear what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment.” this is unreasonable as it is the announcer’s job to broadcast the news, and when he is unable to do so, he has lost his purpose (61). Equality is everyone receiving the same, while justice is everyone receiving what they require. “She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous.” This is an example of the corrupti...

    Read More

  • The Folly of Bergeron

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. In Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. spins a tale of warning. One that warns of the dangers of total, unadulterated equal society. A society that is so equal in informational access, that an omniscient narrator is needed to tell the whole story. A society that is so equal in intelligence, that is is almost non-existent. A society that is so equal in freedom, that nobody has it. The story of Harrison Bergeron gives the warning that when equal opportunity is confused with equal ability, society as a whole, will diminish as a result.

    Read More

  • Harrison Bergeron: A Dystopian Society

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    Never would I thought that we have a dystopian-like society in our world. Don’t know what a dystopia is? It is a society set in the future, typically portrayed in movies and books in, which everything is unpleasant. The novel Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut is a dystopian story of a fourteen-year-old boy named Harrison who grows up in a society that limits people’s individuality. When he is taken away from his parents, because of his strong idiosyncrasy, his parents do not even recall his presence because of the “mental handicaps” that the government forces onto them. Harrison eventually escapes from his imprisonment and tries to show others that they can get rid of the handicaps and be free. Though the government official, or Handicapper

    Read More

  • Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron'

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    What would happen to the world if everyone in our society was equal in every aspect? Would this create utopia or hell? In this short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. America has finally achieved full social equality, and living up to the first amendment fully. In this futuristic society, handicaps force this equality, the strong, the beautiful, the intelligent are forced to wear weights, masks, and headphones. These constraints force equality among the American people from beauty and brains, to strength. Harrison is the symbol of defiance and individuality, and represents the aspects of the American people that still want to try hard, out do their peers, and show off their attributes. The story criticizes the policy of equality

    Read More

  • Hate And Discrimination In Harrison Bergeron, By Kurt Vonnegut

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    When a person or group of people join a distinct opposition towards someone or something, it is discrimination. People are inadequately affected through hate and criticism because of the unique differences we each hold as human beings. In the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, he presents us with the mental vision of Tall Poppy Syndrome. These circumstances could negatively attribute to our government being detrimental to our future society by indoctrinating equality within the nation.

    Read More

More about Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

Open Document